Florida teacher focuses on teaching students about 9/11 attack 23 years later

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    LUTZ, Florida (WFTS) — Today marks the 23rd anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, when four commercial planes were hijacked, killing about 3,000 people in the aftermath.

Most of us remember where we were on that day.

However, current K-12 students do not— that’s because they weren’t born yet.

One Hillsborough County teacher is making sure this generation knows the impact this had on our nation.

Jennifer Skelton teaches 7th and 8th grade social studies, civics, and U.S. history at Lutz K-8.

“The further we get away from when it actually happened, we’re having more and more kids who were born [after] it happened,” said Skelton.

“Sometimes I’ll get a little emotional talking about it and they don’t get it. They don’t understand why I’m emotional about it. They don’t understand what that day was for everybody and how scary it was the unknown. So I don’t want to scare them, and I don’t want them to be afraid of things but I think they need to understand how we did feel that day,” she added.

Skelton has made it a priority to teach her students about the Sept. 11 attacks that sparked our nation’s longest war.

September 11, 2001, is a day that she, like most others, will always remember.

“I was 18 starting college and it was a huge change for me. My dad is a retired firefighter so he was working on that day. One of his best friends lost his brother and his cousin on that day in New York,” said Skelton.

She’s making sure her students understand the significance too, and never forget it.

“My step father is a firefighter with the City of Tampa so we both have the connection and we can kind of like share that experience. He obviously wasn’t working during that time but there’s still a connection. He still knows people that lived through it,” said James Horrisberger, 8th grader.

Skelton told ABC Action News that her students are learning why commemorating the day is so important and taking it seriously.

“They need to learn about the history of what happened and just raise awareness about what happened and the struggles it brought,” said 8th grader Amelia Baldwin.

“Just knowing the history of our country. Just being educated on what has happened is something that’s important to me and it’s important to my family. I think that everybody should have the opportunity to know what has happened,” said Horrisberger.

Skelton is taking a group of 50 students to Hillsborough County’s Patriot Day: 9/11 Remembrance event, where they’ll learn more and hear from first responders and military veterans.

“These kids aren’t going just to get out of class. They’re going because they do understand the importance of it and they do want to learn more, “ said Skelton.

“To just like commemorate and mourn all the people that died in the towers that day, especially the passengers on both planes and just kind of grieve for them you know,” said MacPherson Devore, 8th Grader.

“I think it’s important to learn about 9/11 because there’s so many people that died that day, and I think we should just honor them and respect them and it’s like a big part in history that everyone should know,” said Gabriella Medina, who is also an 8th Grader.

Skelton took a smaller group of students last year, and she said it had a big impact on them.

She hopes this group gets the same out of the event.

“When we go, I just tell them just listen to what these men and women have to say, their experiences, and what they can take away from it,” said Skelton.

“I’m looking forward to hearing the stories of people who lived through it and just being able to experience it in their eyes,” said Medina.

Students reflected on what they’ve learned about 9/11 so far.

“That like the people that were that high in the towers they couldn’t really like go down because of all the destruction that was around 80th floor,” said Devore.

It was a devastating day in our nation’s history, and it is now an American duty to ensure that the next generation never forgets it.

The Hillsborough County 9/11 Remembrance Event is open to the public.

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